


Don't Waste It

by spentlizard



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AC/DC References, Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Canonical Character Death, Catharsis, Catharsis Ending, Character Death, Character Study, Contemplation, DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN ENDGAME, Death, Endgame, Everyone Needs A Hug, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Hallucinations, Heavy Angst, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Endgame, Sad, Self-Acceptance, Self-Reflection, Spoilers, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, i'm crying right now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 15:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18640885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spentlizard/pseuds/spentlizard
Summary: Tony Stark takes a ride in the Fun-Vee, through a lone road in the Afghanistan desert.And he remembers.





	Don't Waste It

_"We won, Mr. Stark... we won... You did it... I'm sorry, Tony..."_

* * *

Tony's eyes were met with a bright flash of light, nearly blinding him. Out of instinct he raised his arm to shield his eyes, groaning from the irritation.

"Oh God, someone please kill the sun..."

"Try spending six months on tour near Kabul, and you'll be begging for just a glare."

Tony's pulse raced as he snapped to attention. He felt that this shouldn't be the voice he should be greeted with. He wasn't exactly religious, but he imagined that if there was a heaven then the ones guarding the gates would have baritone voices. Instead, this voice sounded earthly and with a dry wit.

Immediately following, three voices laughed out, and the glare was still so strong for Tony he could not see what was going on. _What_ even was going on?

The glare from the star began to reduce itself, and Tony could see his right arm clearly. But his eyes widened when he saw that he was no longer in possession of the Infinity Stones or his armor. Instead, the only things on his arm consisted of a dress shirt, business jacket, and a gold Jaeger watch.

For whatever reason, his mind decided only now to become aware of the cold against his fingertips. He saw that he was holding a glass of scotch with ice inside, and Tony raised an eyebrow questionably. He had given up drinking ever since Morgan was born, and yet here he was with a drink in his hand. Had he relapsed, perhaps? And this whole thing was some drunken dream?

No, he had far too much awareness of his surroundings to be intoxicated. He knew the feeling.

"You okay, sir?" a youthful voice asked to his left, and Tony turned his head to see who had addressed him.

It was him. The kid. That soldier from Afghanistan. What was his name? Jimmy, right?

"What the hell...?" Tony asked aloud, and as he began to become more awake he saw where he was.

He was in a Humvee, with three soldiers escorting him in a convoy back to the Air Force base in Kunar.

They never reached their destination.

Tony was certain he had lost his mind now. Even after everything he'd seen, nothing could've prepared him for this.

"Where am I?" Tony asked, feeling somewhat stupid because he already knew.

"You're on your way back to the base, sir. Remember?" Jimmy began.

"O-oh, yes, well... right," Tony managed to get out, still in utter disbelief in what he was seeing.

"Hey, if you want, you can kill the silence," the soldier in the passenger seat spoke up, "I got a cassette in the radio already."

_Cassette?_ It was the digital age.

"Don't want you feeling like we're driving you to a court martial, right?" the soldier continued.

"Y-yeah, yeah that's right..." Tony stammered, realizing those had been his exact words back then. He looked down on the floor of the Humvee and saw a radio just sitting there. Gently leaning forward, he pressed the play button, and "Back In Black" by AC/DC started playing.

_God, this is weird._

The next thirty seconds were an uncomfortable silence with the song as mere background noise. Well, uncomfortable for Tony at least, who still had no idea what was going on. Had the Reality Stone messed with his head and he was just hallucinating?

The rest of the soldiers were silent as they kept their focus on the task at hand, and Tony was wondering if they even knew about all that happened. Thanos, the Stones, literally _anything_ that had just happened in the last few days.

But he said nothing, continuing to stay silent as the Humvee kept on going forward along the road.

Tony was brought out of his confusion by a sudden thought, and asked, "Where's Rhodey?"

"Colonel Rhodes is in the car just ahead of us, Mr. Stark," the driver (a woman, he remembered, that he remarked as having "excellent bone structure").

Tony's heartrate picked up, as the implication of this statement could mean-

"He won't be joining us, though. He has to depart back for New York," the driver finished.

Tony heaved a sigh of relief, reassured that his best friend was alright.

"And what about Morgan? Pepper? Peter? Happy?" Tony started to speak nervously.

"They're all fine," the passenger answered, "All well and good last I checked."

So they knew about his family, even though these people had died long before it was barely a concept in his mind.

"Oh! I almost forgot," the driver added, "We need to make a pickup before we continue."

"Of what?" Tony asked.

"Another HVI," Jimmy answered.

Suddenly, the Humvee pulled over along with the rest of the convoy. Tony sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments as he waited for whoever it was to join them.

The door to Tony's right opened, and the glass of scotch fell to the floor of the Humvee with a loud crash.

"Hello, Tony," Yinsen spoke to him, looking perfectly alive and well, "It's been a long time."

"Yinsen…" Tony's jaw dropped, seeing Yinsen stand before him, calm and collected as he was in the brief time he knew him. His suit was not bloody and full of bulletholes like he had last seen him, and he looked genuinely pleased to see Tony.

"Would you mind scooting over, please?" Yinsen asked, and a petrified Tony moved over to make room. Yinsen then clambored inside the vehicle and shut the door.

"What's wrong, Mr. Stark? You look like you've seen a ghost," Yinsen joked with smirk upon his face.

"Yinsen, I thought you were..." Tony began, "Does that mean... that I'm..."

Yinsen did not respond with words or with gestures. Tony knew his answer was loud and clear.

Tony buried his face in his hands, slowly dragging them down towards his chin. Afterwards he pressed his hands together over his mouth.

So this wasn't some dream after all. The thought of what had happened _had_ crossed his mind, but for whatever reason he couldn't really accept it until now.

_Morgan. Pepper. Peter. Rhodey. Happy. Steve._

It was at this moment Tony realized that he had left them. He was gone from them. He had chosen to make the sacrifice play. Only this time luck hadn't been there to keep him alive.

So Strange's plan had worked after all.

"Did you keep your promise, Tony?" Yinsen spoke to Tony, still not looking at him.

Tony took a moment to ponder his words. He thought of all the battles he had fought, both without and within. Not only with Thanos and Stane and Loki and Ultron, but with himself. To know what it is he was fighting for. To do his utmost to protect the innocent. To do right by those he loved and cared about.

Tony slowly turned his head up to the man who had saved his life. Who had helped him to survive to make it back home so he could continue to save people for years to come. This had been fifteen years ago. And he took time to recognize all the good he had done, and where it had lead him in the end.

"I didn't waste it," Tony answered, "I didn't waste my life, Yinsen."

Yinsen smiled.

"I know you didn't, Stark," he placed a hand upon his friend's shoulder.

The drive continued on for what seemed like hours before anyone spoke up again.

"Hey, Mr. Stark?" Jimmy asked, "Is it cool if I take a picture with you?"

Tony turned and gave Jimmy an assuring smile, "Yes, it is very cool, but I don't want to see this on your Instagram page."

"Insta- what?" Jimmy raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah," Tony continued, "I forgot. Yeah, there's a lot of trendy tech in the future. Just so you know."

There was a laugh exchanged amongst all the passengers of the Humvee, and Tony felt peaceful at last.

"You know," Tony turned his head towards Yinsen, "I never asked you, Yinsen… what was your family like?"

Yinsen smiled again, and he said, "You'll see for yourself soon enough."

The Humvee kept on going, the music kept on playing.

* * *

_"We're going to be okay. You can rest now."_


End file.
